Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (born August 16, 1958, Bay City, Michigan) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur, whose song "Gambler" appeared in the episode "The Fix" of the series Miami Vice. Career 1970's-1980's Madonna moved from her native Michigan to New York City to pursue dancing, performing with the disco singer Patrick Hernandez ("Born To Be Alive"), joined two different groups ("Breakfast Club" and "Emmy") before branching on her own. Her debut album, Madonna, was released in 1983, and after the single "Holiday" reached the Top 20, her single "Borderline", became her first Billboard Top 10 single in 1984, and the third single, "Lucky Star", did the same. Madonna foretold her success on an episode of American Bandstand when she told host Dick Clark she "wanted to rule the world". Her second album, Like A Virgin, brought Madonna into the mainstream, and launched the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards by performing the title track in a wedding dress, rolling provocatively on the floor. Like A Virgin was her first #1 single and #1 album, and her wardrobe of mesh gloves, midriff-revealing tops and "Boy Toy" belt became a fashion statement for teenaged girls around the world. In 1985 she made her film debut in a cameo performance in Vision Quest, for which she had two singles, "Crazy For You" and "Gambler", the latter not released in the US due to Madonna having several other singles already out. Another film appearance, in Desperately Seeking Susan, resulted in another dance single, "Into The Groove". Virgin produced four top 10 singles and two #1s, the title track, "Material Girl", "Dress You Up", and "Angel". She went on the Virgin Tour and appeared at Live Aid. Her third album, True Blue, featured three #1 songs; "Papa Don't Preach", "Live to Tell" (also featured in her movie Shanghai Surprise) and "Open Your Heart" and two others hit the Top 10; "La Isla Bonita" and "True Blue". Her 1989 album Like A Prayer also featured the #1 title track, and the video to that song created more controversy over its' depiction of crosses burning and stigmata, and cost her a deal with Pepsi to use the song in commercials. Five other singles were released, one, "Oh, Father", was the first Madonna single not to reach the Top 10 since 1983. With all of her successes, Madonna became the biggest selling female artist of the 1980s. 1990s Madonna appeared as Breathless Mahoney in the movie Dick Tracy, and the soundtrack album featured another #1, Vogue. Her Blond Ambition Tour ran for most of the year (from which the movie Truth or Dare was created). Her greatest hits album, The Immaculate Collection was released late in 1990, and featured another #1 song, "Justify My Love", which was banned from MTV due to its' depiction of S&M, partial nudity, simulated sex, and same-sex kissing. The controversy sparked a whole new sales outlet, the "video single". "Justify My Love" was one of the first "video singles" released and sold well. In 1992 Madonna was in the movie A League of Their Own (with Lori Petty) and recorded the #1 single "This Used To Be My Playground", then she released a book of sexually provocative images, Sex, which sold 1.5 million copies at $50 each despite negative publicity, and many thought her career was winding down when she continued to present herself as a sexual renegade, appearing in two erotic movies, Body of Evidence and Dangerous Game, and performed provocatively on stage during her Girlie Show World Tour. In 1994 Madonna (as she often has through her career) attempted to "reinvent" herself by toning down the sexual provocativeness by releasing an album of softer sounds, Bedtime Stories (featuring "Take A Bow", #1 for seven weeks, "Bedtime Story", "Secret" and "Human Nature"), then in 1995 received her "dream role" as Evita Peron in the movie Evita. Released the following year, Madonna received critical praise for her performance. After her daughter's birth in 1996, Madonna embraced the Kaballah faith and her next album, Ray of Light, was influenced by the faith, and produced the #2 "Frozen". She performed music from the movies Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me ("Beautiful Stranger"), Die Another Day, and The Next Best Thing ("American Pie", a remake of the Don McLean classic). 2000s-2010s Madonna's 2003 album American Life was the lowest selling album of her career. She released two more albums that did better, Confessions on a Dance Floor and Hard Candy. The single "4 Minutes" became her 37th Billboard Top 10 single, breaking Elvis Presley's 35 year old record. Her music was featured in the show Glee and an EP based on those songs reached #1. In 2008, Madonna was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2012, Madonna performed at halftime during Super Bowl XLVI (and with 114 million viewers, became the most-watched Super Bowl halftime show of all-time); her film W.E. ''would be released, and her 12th studio album, ''MDNA, was released in March, 2012. In 2013 a 17 minute film, secretprojectrevolution, was released via torrent sites, and in 2015 her thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart, was released. Personal Life Madonna married actor Sean Penn in 1985 until their divorce in 1989, in 1994 she began having a relationship with trainer Carlos Leon, which produced a daughter, Lourdes, in 1996. The relationship with Leon ended in 1998, after which she married director Guy Ritchie in 2000 until their 2008 divorce, she had a son, Rocco, in 2000 and she adopted a Malawi baby, which she named David, in 2008 amidst much controversy, then in 2017 adopted twin Malawi daughters, Esther & Stella. Category:Music performers